PRIZE 

MECHANICS’  INSTITUTE, 


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HOW 


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Surplus  Products 


.  .  .  AND  .  .  . 

HOW  WE  MAY 
EMPLOY  OUR.. 


SURPLUS  LABOR 


J.  ALFRED  KINGHORN-JONES 


n  be  obtained  of  J.  Alfred  Kinghorn-Jones,  room  48,  22*4  Geary  Street, 
>an  Francisco,  between  the  hours  of  8:30  &  9:15;  12  A  1;  3  &  4;  or  by  mail 


PRICE  10  CENTS. 


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ONE. 


San  Francisco,  Jan.  6,  1898. 

To  the  Trustees  of  Mechanics’  Institute:  — 

Gentlemen:  Referring  to  your  letter  of  the  5th 
inst.,  awarding  me  the  prize  for  the  best  Essay  on 
“How  We  May  Dispose  of  Our  Surplus  Products  and 
How  We  May  Employ  Our  Surplus  Labor,”  will  you 
kindly  inform  me  if  you  intend  to  publish  it;  and 
if  so,  may  I  be  allowed  to  correct  proof?  If  you 
will  not  publish  the  Essay,  may  I  have  the  MS.  to 
do  so?  There  is  certainly  no  more  important  ques¬ 
tion  before  the  world  than  the  one  you  propounded; 
for  the  increasing  number  of  the  disemployed  (dis¬ 
allowed  to  work),  and  the  constantly  diminishing 
wage,  as  a  natural  consequence,  of  those  employed, 
is  a  fearful  menace  to  the  peace  and  happiness  of 
humanity,  which  includes  all  the  divisions  into 
which  scientists  have  been  pleased  to  divide  us. 

If  you  refuse  to  publish  the  paper  for  which  you 
offered  a  prize,  may  I  ask  if  the  intention  was 
merely  that  of  school  exercise  for  the  competitors, 
committee,  judge,  etc.,  and  not  from  any  real  desire 
to  offer  the  plan  selected  for  the  consideration  of 
those  who  take  an  interest  in  social  conditions? 

As  this  said  prize  was  offered  for  MS.  sent  you  in 
August,  and  awarded  me  November  2d,  and  then, 
for  some  reason,  inscrutable  to  those  uninitiated  in 
the  mysteries  of  your  management,  re-committed 
for  reconsideration  for  a  period  of  nine  weeks,  or  a 


\>HoZV5 


2 


sufficient:  tjm^f  according  to  present  average,  for 
abput  .ope  hundred  deaths  to  occur  in  this  city  from 
sbarvhtipn,.  murder,  pr  suipide,  caused  by  the  want 
of  hbnest,  erpplo.vih^hj^  it  Appears  to  me  that  your 
pond^ct  ;oh  a  tfn$  with  that  of  the  parsons  with 
f  egftrd  to'*  ydur"  attitude  toward  Labor.  I  do  not 
thinkr  of  any  better  Illustration  to  show  my  mean¬ 
ing  than:  *tb at  a  ickt  with  a  mouse — first  deprive 
it  of  /freedom;'  frighten  it,  then  maim  it,  and  play 
with  it,  and  then  take  its  life! 

I  have  no  desire  to  be  unnecessarily  harsh,  but 
I  do  desire  to  be  emphatic  in  my  denunciation  of 
the  Labor-crushing  church  and  other  law-ridden  in¬ 
stitutions. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  faithful 

J.  ALFRED  KINGHORN- JONES. 

P.  S. — The  medal  is  received,  and  I  am  very  sorry 
not  to  be  able  to  compliment  you  on  the  workman¬ 
ship;  it  is  struck  from  an  old  die,  so  dilapidated 
that  the  “M”  in  Mechanics  is  barely  legible.  In  the 
word  “mechanics”  there  is  an  apostrophe  over  “c” 
and  another  over  “s.”  The  relief  of  the  whole  is 
so  poor  that  it  has  a  worthless  appearance.  The 
engraving  also  is  most  unsymmetrical;  a  clever  en¬ 
graver  would  have  put  the  whole  title  of  the  Essay 
on  the  medal  with  ease. 


TWO. 

Sunday,  Feb.  13,  1898. 
To  the  Trustees  of  Mechanics’  Institute:  — 

Dear  Sirs:  I  wrote  you  January  6th,  asking  if 
you  would,  or  I  might,  publish  the  Prize  Essay.  Not 
having  a  reply  appears  strange  to  one  brought  up  in 
the  old-fashioned  belief  that  gentlemen  always  an¬ 
swer  letters. 

Failing  your  reply  on  or  before  the  17th  inst.,  I 
shall  publish  the  article,  and  return  you  the  parody 


3 


of  a  medal  in  the  lady’s  watch  case  (three  sizes  too 
large)  in  which  I  received  it. 

Shreve  &  Company,  who  know  so  well  how  to 
turn  out  prizes  for  horse  racers,  and  Divine-image 
smashers,  with  glove-like  fitting  cases,  failed  to 
realize  that  no  one  with  refined  feelings  could  ap¬ 
preciate  such  an  abortion  as  the.  metal  bearing  the 
legend,  “For  Prize  Essay,”  which  might  mean  on  a 
Tom  Cat  or  a  She  Elephant,  or  any  other  subject 
one  would  not  feel  proud  of  wasting  time  for  dis¬ 
sertation. 

Various  incidents  in  this  matter  confirm  the  fact, 
patent  to  every  observant  thinker,  that  1898  years 
of  the  Christianity  invented,  taught,  and  main¬ 
tained  by  barons  and  priests,  has  succeeded  most 
effectually  in  robbing  the  poor  of  all  rights,  even 
the  right  to  live.  The  time  has  come  when  Labor 
must  see  that  it  is  “the  law  worketh  wrath,  for 
where  no  law  is,  there  is  no  transgression.”  Labor 
must  assert,  regain,  and  maintain  its  rights;  refuse 
to  submit  to  any  man-made-law,  or  forever  give  up 
the  fight — no  half-measures  will  avail  now. 

I  am,  dear  sirs,  your  faithful 

J.  ALFRED  KINGHORN-JONES. 


THREE. 

Virginia  and  LeRoy,  Berkeley,  Cal., 

17  Feb.,  1898. 

The  Trustees  of  Mechanics’  Institute:  — 

Dear  Sirs:  Yours  of  the  16th  at  hand,  in 

which  the  Secretary  intimates  very  clearly  that 
you  (the  Trustees)  have  no  time  to  devote 
to  such  a  matter  as  the  “Employment  of  Sur¬ 
plus  Labor,”  all  your  time  and  energy  being 
concentrated  on  the  Gold  Mining  Fair.  You 
must  be  proud  of  the  standard  you  are  working  so 
vigorously  to  maintain  and  extend;  its  effects  have 


4 


been  well  illustrated  by  the  dozen  deaths  of  chil¬ 
dren  and  the  quarter  of  a  dozen  charming  young 
women  sacrificed  by  the  opening  parade;  the  wed¬ 
ding  one  day  and  divorce  the  next  follows  on  as  a 
striking  example  of  the  degrading  effect  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  money  system. 

I  herewith  return  the  article  presented  to  me  as 
a  medal.  Keep  it  as  a  specimen  of  art  in  San  Fran¬ 
cisco  in  the  year  of  the  Golden  Jubilee — when  the 
greatest  curse  the  world  has  ever  known  was 
exalted  far  above  the  Deity. 

Your  faithful 

J.  ALFRED  KINGHORN-JONES. 


FOUR. 

(From  “Free  Society,”  San  Francisco,  Jan  16,  1898.) 

OPEN  LETTER 

To  Thomas  Garrett,  City  Editor  of  “The  Examiner,” 
San  Francisco. 

Dear  Sir:  Yours  of  December  23  to  hand,  in 
which  you  reply  to  my  request  that  you  would  pub¬ 
lish  the  essay  on  “How  We  May  Dispose  of  Our  Sur¬ 
plus  Products,  and  How  We  May  Employ  Our  Sur¬ 
plus  Labor,”  by  saying:  “I  am  sorry  to  say  that, 
owing  to  lack  of  space,  the  Examiner  will  not  be 
able  to  publish  your  paper.” 

How  to  employ  our  surplus  Labor  is  the  most 
important  question  before  the  world,  both  to  the 
employed  and  disemployed,  the  rapidly  increasing 
number  of  the  latter  being  a  menace  to  the  peace 
and  happiness  of  all  humanity. 

In  my  letter  to  you  it  was  stated  that  the  Mechan¬ 
ics’  Institute  had  awarded  the  prize  for  the  Essay 
you  were  asked  to  publish  and  that  it  was  only 
2,500  words. 


5 


Your  reply,  therefore,  speaks  volumes,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  fact  that  the  Examiner  prints 
25,000  or  250,000  words  on  such  inhuman  matters  as 
a  prize  fight,  or  Durrant,  and  can  also  find  space  for 
glowing  accounts  of  such  deceptive  schemes  as 
Booth’s  Salvation  Colony,  by  which  poor  dupes  are 
induced  to  grow  beets  for  a  millionaire  under  the 
delusive  hope,  encouraged  by  the  Mayor,  that  they 
are  actually  going  to  work  for  themselves.  Those 
people  who  continually  advise  the  poor  to  be  con¬ 
tent  with  the  position  in  which  God  has  placed 
them,  have  no  desire  whatever  to  settle  the  Labor 
question — or  how  would  they  get  a  living — they 
would  'have  to  do  some  real  useful  work  or  starve — 
a  most  important  decision  for  them  to  make! 

I  would  commend  to  your  notice  “Confessions  of 
a  New  York  Journalist,”  lately  published;  in  case 
you  have  not  seen  it,  the  following  extract  may  be 
interesting: 

“There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  independent  daily 
press.  We  are  all  slaves!  You  know  it  and  I  know 
it.  There  is  not  one  of  you  that  dare  express  an 
honest  opinion.  I  am  paid  $150  per  week  for  keep¬ 
ing  honest  opinions  out  of  the  paper  I  am  connected 
with.  The  man  who  would  be  so  foolish  as  to  write 
honest  opinions  would  soon  be  out  on  the  street 
hunting  for  another  job.  The  business  of  a  jour¬ 
nalist  is  to  distort  the  truth;  to  lie  outright;  to  per¬ 
vert;  to  vilify;  to  fawn  at  the  feet  of  mammon  and 
to  sell  his  country  and  his  race  for  his  daily  bread. 
We  are  the  tools  and  vassals  of  rich  men  behind  the 
scenes.  We  are  intellectual  prostitutes,  and  our 
time,  our  talents  and  our  possibilities  are  all  the 
property  of  other  men.” 

Many  thanks  for  your  reply.  Faithfully, 

J.  ALFRED  KINGHORN-JONES. 

San  Francisco,  Jan.  4,  ’98. 


6 


FIVE. 

“The  Chronicle”  did  not  consider  it  a  suitable 
subject  for  its  columns. 


SIX. 

“The  Bulletin”  had  no  space  for  it. 


SEVEN. 

“The  Call”  (which  “speaks  for  all” — at  least,  this 
is  their  joker)  would  not  even  reply  to  either  of  two 
requests  to  publish  a  poor  man’s  idea  on  how  to 
employ  surplus  Labor,  which  had  been  awarded  the 
prize  by  the  first  Literary  Society  in  the  city. 

Ergo,  the  poor  man  who  has  to  work  for  two 
land-barons  in  addition  to  working  for  the  city 
vampires,  before  the  Iciiv  allows  him  to  work  for  his 
family,  has  to  take  the  risk  of  publishing,  if  he  de¬ 
sires  to  bring  the  subject  before  the  people. 


Which  he  does. 


4 


3  Y 

*  3  3  0 


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>  "  o»e 


& 

3  °  j 

•3  >  j 


HOW  WE  MAT  DISPOSE  ,07.  OUR  SUPwPLUS 
PRODUCTS,  AND  HOW  WE  MAT  EM¬ 
PLOY  OUR  SURPLUS  .LABOR.  ‘ 


O  4 


O  J> 

»  »J 

>  3  ■, 


3  3 
J  3 


J  O 

■j  g. 


J  J 

>  J.  . 


[The  Mechanics’ Institute  of  San  Francisco  offered 
the  prize  of  a  silver  medal  for  the  best  Essay  on 
the  above  subject,  and  awarded  it  for  the  following, 
written  by  J.  Alfred  Kinghorn-*, ones: ] 


v 


Because  5,000,000  are  disemployed  (disallowed  to 
work)  in  America,  they  are  prevented  from  dis¬ 
posing  or  consuming  what  is  so  often  termed  sur¬ 
plus  products.  How  can  there  be  overproduction 
in  a  land  where  millions  are  on  the  verge  of  starva¬ 
tion,  clothed  in  rags  or  patches  and  homeless?  It 
therefore  appears  that  the  second  question,  an¬ 
swered  satisfactorily,  would  also  be  a  full  reply  to 
the  first  question. 

The  questions  reveal  an  unnatural  state  of  things 
brought  about  by  unnatural  laws;  the  vast  area  of 
this  glorious  land  would  provide  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  acres  to  each  family;  the  wealth  created 
by  land  values  is  estimated  at  $32,000,000,^00;  this 
would  provide  each  family  with  $5,u00;  the  land  and 
the  wealth  is  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
thousands  only  of  the  70,000,000;  these  few  have 
the  power  of  disemploying  and  disinheriting  the 
millions;  the  few  very  wealthy  are  being  con¬ 
tracted  with  fearful  rapidity  into  still  fewer,  with 
an  ever  increasing  amount  of  wealth.  This  must 
consequently  increase  the  number  of  the  disem¬ 
ployed  with  a  similar  fearful  rapidity. 

One  thing  only  allows  the  possibility  of  such 
unnatural  conditions,  and  that  is  the  unnatural  me¬ 
dium  of  exchange. 


8 


Gold,  the  most  useless  of  metals,  is  hidden  awaj 
in  those  ppH.s  of  the  earth  that  are  the  least  suit¬ 
able  for  the  habitation  of  man.  This  is  most  forc¬ 
ibly  illustrated  at  0)6:  present  time  by  the  Klondike. 

Labor  produces  it  at  great  risk  of  life. 

Laboi  refines  it. 

Labor  then  stamps  it  with  certain  hieroglyphics, 
which  gives  it  a  villainous  fictitious  value. 

‘  Labor,-  tne  creator,  is  actually  the  idiot  who 
makes  the  created  inanimate  metal  into  the  master, 
tyrant,  autocrat  over  its  creator! 

A  magnet,  by  natural  law,  draws  all  the  steel 
filings  to  itself  that  are  within  the  range  of  its  in¬ 
fluence,  but  having  done  so,  it  has  not  increased  its 
power  to  draw  more  from  a  still  greater  distance; 
it  has,  in  fact,  satiated  its  power  of  attraction. 

Gold,  ly  an  unnatural,  inhuman  law,  is  given  the 
power  of  interest,  which  allows  it  to  draw  other 
gold  to  itself,  and  with  each  addition  to  add,  in 
an  ever-increasing  ratio,  the  power  to  draw  still 
more  to  itself,  so  that  the  greatest  pile  must  logi¬ 
cally  draw  all  the  bullion  and  coined  gold  into  the 
possession  of  one  combine,  or  trust,  or  individual; 
in  fact,  this  consummation  is  now  within  measur¬ 
able  distance. 

Natural  law  is  that  every  one  should  labor  to  the 
best  of  their  ability  for  the  good  of  themselves 
without  injury  to  others,  and  consequently  for  the 
good  of  humanity. 

Unnatural  usury  laws  allow  the  few  to  live  on  the 
labor  of  others. 

To-day  the  decalogue  is  a  dead  letter,  totally 
ignored  since  the  crime  of  1873,  which  established 
the  unalogue,*  THOU  SHALT  PAY  IN  GOLD. 

The  table  of  statistics  shows  that  the  average 
amount  of  wealth  produced  per  day  is  $10  for  each 
worker,  but  as  their  average  pay  is  about  $1  per 
day,  they  are  robbed  of  about  $9  per  day.  This  ac- 


*New  word;  coined  by  the  author. 


9 


counts  for  the  underconsumption  which  is  so  erro¬ 
neously  termed  overproduction;  the  more  con¬ 
tracted  the  medium  of  exchange,  the  more  easily  is 
Labor  robbed  of  the  result  of  its  work. 

What  is  the  chief  cause  of  all  tne  misery  so  pa¬ 
tiently  endured  by  those  who  produce  all  wealth? 
It  is,  without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  our  unnatural 
currency  laws. 

The  census  of  1890  shows  the  public  ana  private 
debts  of  the  United  States  to  be  $45,000,000,000;  the 
gold  of  the  world,  bullion  and  coin,  amounts  to 
$5,000,000,000  (some  say  $7,000,000,000)  only.  Every 
undertaking  to  pay  in  gold,  and  all  mortgages  and 
all  interest  is  so  required,  is  therefore  promising  an 
impossibility,  a  thing  which  no  law  of  man  or  devil 
can  compel. 

Athens,  Carthage,  Rome,  etc.,  are  plain  and  un¬ 
mistakable  warnings  to  us.  They  did  not  destroy 
usury,  and  therefore  usury  destroyed  them,  and  it 
will  any  nation;  for  metals  do  not  breed,  and  metal 
money  of  any  kind,  even  lead  or  tin,  enables  the 
monopolizer  to  command  interest. 

It  is  estimated  that  England,  through  the  gold 
standard,  is  robbing  America  of  $1,500,000  per  diem. 
This  awful  drain  is  all  taken  from  Labor;  n  cannot 
be  otherwise,  as  they  produce  all  wealth. 

Professor  Price  defines  money  thus:  “Money  is  a 
tool  of  exchange  and  nothing  more;  it  is  not  a 
measure  of  value,  nor  a  standard  of  value,  nor  a 
representative  of  property;  it  transfers  property 
from  one  party  to  another  as  a  wagon  hauls  goods 
from  one  place  to  another.” 

Bankers  say  that  gold  is  to  the  body  politic  as 
blood  is  to  the  human  body.  This  analogy  fol¬ 
lowed  out  will  explain  the  present  cause  of  the  fear¬ 
ful  suffering  that  Labor  is  now  experiencing.  There 
is  a  congestion  of  $600,000,000  in  New  York  banks 
waiting  for  usurious  investments,  security  being  re¬ 
quired  that  is  worth  two  or  three  times  the  amount 


10 


loaned.  Imagine  a  man  with  that  proportion  of  his 
blood  congested  in  his  head  and  refusing  the  use  of 
it  to  his  leg  except  on  the  mortgage  of  the  rest  of 
the  body  for  the  loan. 

Mathematics  are  reduced  to  a  scientific  system; 
therefore  we  are  in  the  mathematical  millennium. 
Mechanics  are  also  a  scientific  system,  so  we  have 
the  mechanical  millennium  with  us,  and  this  in¬ 
cludes  the  transportation  of  matter  and  sound — in 
fact,  we  haye  advanced  in  every  other  department 
of  life  including  Christian  Science,  but  in  the  mat¬ 
ter  of  currency  we  have  been  retrograding  as  rapid¬ 
ly  as  every  other  branch  of  economics  has  been  pro¬ 
gressing  toward  Truth.  Science  is  Truth.  Truth  has 
been  reached  in  these  various  departments;  but  as 
all  restrictions  that  interfere  with  the  freedom  of 
production,  exchange,  and  transportation  are 
wrongs  to  those  who  produce,  we  cannot  yet  have 
entered  the  social  or  universal  millennium;  to  effect 
this  all  restrictions  must  be  removed  that  block  the 
free  use  of  the  means  of  production,  exchange,  and 
transportation.  The  only  obstacle  in  the  way  is  the 
medium  of  exchange;  instead  of  tne  present  wicked 
gold  standard  we  must  have  a  scientific  medium  of 
exchange  that  will  ensure  equity,  and  consequently 
freedom  from  usury. 

History  proves  the  benefits  derived  from  the  use 
of  irredeemable  paper  money.  Venice  for  600  years 
controlled  the  commerce  of  the  world  on  this  basis. 

Sir  Archibald  Allison,  in  his  history  of  Europe, 
says:  “The  suspension  of  specie  payment  by  the 
Bank  of  England  in  1797  led  to  the  use  of  an 
enormous  amount  of  irredeemable  paper  money.’* 

“The  result  was  magical. 

“It  terminated  in  a  blaze  of  glory  and  a  flood  of 
prosperity  which  has  never  before  or  since  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  world  descended  on  any  nation. 

“Prosperity,  universal  and  unheard  of,  pervaded 
every  department  of  the  empire.  Agriculture, 


11 


manufactures,  and  commerce  increased  in  un¬ 
paralleled  ratio. 

“The  landed  proprietors  were  in  affluence. 

“Wealth  to  an  unheard  of  extent  was  created 
among  the  farmers. 

“Our  exports,  imports  and  tonnage  more  than 
doubled,  and  the  condition  of  the  people  was  one 
of  extraordinary  prosperity. 

“From  1797  to  1819  no  financial  embarrassment 
of  any  moment  was  experienced,  and  in  vain  Na¬ 
poleon  waited  for  the  stoppage  of  England’s  finan¬ 
cial  resources. 

“ But  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  1819 — 
the  change  of  the  financial  system  from  legal  tender 
paper  to  metal  money — was  ruinous  to  all  the  in¬ 
dustries  of  England. 

“The  distress  became  insufferable,  and  in  Man¬ 
chester  60,000  men,  women  and  children  assembled, 
demanding  blood  or  bread;  and  many  of  the  people 
were  killed  and  many  wounded  by  the  British 
troops.” 

Our  own  Jefferson  saw  the  inevitable  when  he 
said,  “Banks  are  more  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of 
the  people  than  standing  armies.” 

Proofs  of  the  iniquities  of  the  metal  medium  of 
exchange  could  be  produced  in  such  profusion  as  to 
fill  volumes,  and  would  prove  to  demonstration  that 
it  is  only  unnatural  currency  laws  that  keeps  land 
out  of  use  and  those  anxious  for  work  in  enforced 
idleness — a  burden  to  themselves  and  the  prime 
factor  which  reduces  the  wages  of  those  who  find 
employment. 

If  our  surplus  labor  is  to  be  employed  we  must 
first  have  a  righteous  tool  of  exchange,  such  as 
Venice  prospered  under  for  600  years,  and  such  as 
England  enjoyed  with  so  much  advantage  to  all 
classes  in  the  period  between  1797  and  1819. 

How  can  this  all-important  end  be  gained?  First, 
let  us  consider  if  there  is  the  slightest  hope  of  ob- 


12 


taining  any  such  simple,  just  measure  from  the 
government. 

Our  noble  ancestors  were  far-seeing  when,  on  the 
23d  of  December,  1793,  they  enacted  that,  “Any  per¬ 
son  holding  any  office. or  stock  in  any  institution  in 
the  nature  of  a  bank  for  issuing  or  discounting  bills 
or  notes  payable  to  bearer  or  order  cannot  be  a 
member  of  the  House  wffiile  he  owns  such  office  or 
stock.”  This  resolution  was  signed  by  the  Presi¬ 
dent,  George  Washington. 

Three-fourths  of  the  seats  in  Congress  are  there¬ 
fore  illegally  filled  to-day  by  bank  officials  and  bank 
shareholders,  and  for  at  least  thirty  years  all  laws 
passed  by  the  Senate  have  been  unconstitutional, 
even  waiving  the  legality  of  election,  inasmuch  as 
they  all  tend  towards  special  privileges  to  the  few 
at  the  expense  of  the  many  who  labor. 

James  M.  Eckels,  one  of  our  Finance  Ministers, 
speaking  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association 
of  American  Bankers  held  in  Detroit  August  18th, 
1897,  said:  “The  currency  problem  is,  taking  it 
all  in  all,  the  most  momentous  with  which  the 
American  statesman  has  to  do.  It  is  one  neither 
of  politics  nor  political  preferment.  It  is,  as 
bankers,  more  than  all  others,  ought  to  realize, 
one  of  business  self-preservation,  and  as  such 
should  command  at  the  hands  of  those  -who  are 
sworn  to  guard  and  preserve  the  people’s  rights,  a 
statesmanship  and  patriotism  commensurate  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved.  It  pre¬ 
sents  in  its  circulation  feature  the  singular  spec¬ 
tacle  of  nine  different  kinds  of  currency,  all  except 
two  of  which  are  directly  or  indirectly  dependent 
upon  the  credit  of  the  United  States.” 

For  a  mixture  of  truth,  error  and  superstition, 
how  beautifully  this  coincides  with  our  Sunday 
ministers — true  insomuch  as  the  currency  is  the 
most  momentous  problem,  false  as  being  neither  of 
politics  or  political  preferment,  bearing  in  mind 


13 


that  the  true  definition  of  “politics”  is  serving  God 
in  such  a  way  that  the  devil  does  not  object  to  the 
service.  True,  it  is,  as  bankers  more  than  all 
others  ought  to  realize  one  of  business  self-preser¬ 
vation;  false  in  allowing  it  to  be  thought  he  re¬ 
ferred  to  the  business  of  the  country,  when  of 
course  he  referred  to  the  business  of  the  Association 
of  American  Bankers,  whom  he  was  addressing, 
and  whose  business  it  is  solely  to  skin  the  rest  of 
the  people.  True,  it  should  command  at  the  hands 
of  those  who  are  sworn  to  guard  and  preserve  the 
people’s  rights  a  statesmanship  and  patriotism 
commensurate  with  the  magnitude  of  the  interests 
involved.  This  minister,  like  other  ministers,  was 
studiously  using  words  to  conceal  his  knowledge  of 
facts,  to  gloss  over  the  vilest  iniquities  ever  prac¬ 
ticed  on  any  nation. 

Eckels  knows  that  those  who  rule  America  are 
monopolists,  who  gain  place  and  power  by  fraud, 
and  whose  motto  is  “The  people  be  damned,”  whose 
consciences  are  seared  with  the  redhot  iron  of  greed 
and  deception,  and  whose  oaths  of  office  are  far 
worse  than  valueless.  There  is  not  a  true  states¬ 
man  in  office  to-day;  each  and  all  are  in  office  for 
plunder. 

Our  finance  minister  did  not  explain  that  credit 
necessitates  a  creditor,  and  a  creditor  means  some 
one  in  bonds;  or  to  proclaim  the  fact  that  America 
is  too  young  and  too  rich  to  be  in  bondage  to  any 
one.  He  wickedly  and  of  set  purpose  failed  to 
elucidate  that  if  seven  kinds  of  our  currency  de¬ 
pend  on  the  credit  of  Uncle  Sam,  or,  more  cor¬ 
rectly,  on  Uncle  being  a  debtor,  and  as  two  forms  of 
currency  are  not  so  dependent,  that  we  need 
only  one  kind  of  currency,  and  that  one  not  to 
involve  bondage.  He  could  hardly  be  expected  to 
go  so  far,  when  he  is  now  engaged  scheming  to 
issue  more  bonds  with  which  to  further  afflict 
Labor,  who  has  to  pay  all  the  bond  dealer’s  profit 
and  the  interest. 


14 


Proofs  of  the  iniquities  by  which  our  elections  are 
conducted  and  government  officials  boodled  into 
office  would  also  fill  many  volumes,  and  would 
prove  to  demonstration  that  Labor  is  never  con¬ 
sidered  except  to  deprive  him  of  his  productions; 
he  is  never  represented  in  the  true  light,  that  of  be¬ 
ing  the  only  class  really  necessary  for  the  progress 
of  any  nation. 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  present  currency  laws 
are  the  only  reason  why  we  have  any  surplus  Labor, 
— wliat  an  absurd  expression  to  use  in  a  cobble-paved 
city,  or  in  a  State  that  would  welcome  as  many 
millions  as  we  now  have  thousands,  and  with  a 
“righteous  tool  of  exchange”  enable  them  to  live 
in  comfort  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  seeing 
this,  and  that  we  cannot  expect  our  government  to 
assist  our  surplus  Labor  to  employ  themselves  for 
themselves,  it  remains  for  Labor  to  employ  them¬ 
selves  and  see  to  it  that  there  shall  be  no  surplus 
products  on  which  parasites  grow  fat — and  this  can 
be  brought  about  only  by  producers  deciding  to  use 
their  own  “righteous  tool  of  exchange”  by  means 
of  Labor  checks. 

The  Labor  Exchange  Association  has  now  about 
260  branches;  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union  has 
organizations  at  work.  California  heads  the  list 
with  over  sixty  branches.  The  Association  pro¬ 
poses  an  enormous  amount  of  irredeemable  paper 
money,  so  enormous  as  to  be  limited  only  by  the 
amount  of  wealth  they  produce;  and  just  as  soon 
as  Labor  generally  adopts  this  new  “righteous  tool 
of  exchange”  America’s  blaze  of  glory  will  outshine 
that  of  England  in  1797  a  thousand-fold.  And  in 
addition  to  all  this,  it  would  restore  the  inesti¬ 
mable  blessing  of  Freedom  to  Labor. 

The  National  Labor  Exchange  was  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  Missouri  by  order  of  the  circuit 
court  for  Pettis  county,  of  that  State,  on  the  1st 
of  March,  1890,  by  G.  B.  De  Bernardi,  Independence, 
Missouri. 


15 


It  is  an  organization  of  producers  and  others  in¬ 
terested  in  the  advancement  of  the  people.  Any 
person,  without  regard  to  sex,  age,  race  or  religion, 
can  become  a  member  upon  taking  the  pledge  and 
paying  the  membership  fee  of  one  dollar,  which 
covers  all  the  charge  for  a  life  membership,  there 
being  no  assessments  or  other  dues. 

The  pledge  is  as  follows: 

1 . of  the  age 

of . years,  . .- . sex,  and  by 


occupation . . . now 

residing  at . .  County 

of . and  State 


of . in  consideration  of  the 

rights,  privileges,  benefits  and  protection  conferred 
upon  me  as  a  member  of  the  Labor  Exchange  Asso¬ 
ciation,  and  to  the  end  that  the  property  of  the  said 
Association,  upon  which  the  safety  of  said  benefit 
is  based,  may  not  be  sacrificed  at  reduced  value,  by 
forced  liquidation  in  legal  tender  money,  hereby 
promise  and  agree  that  for  any  article  or  articles 
of  merchandise  and  moneys  that  I  may  deposit  in 
the  keeping  of,  labor  and  services,  that  I  may  per¬ 
form  for,  or  for  any  certificate  of  deposit  that  I  may 
hold  on  said  Labor  Exchange,  I  will  accept  as  suffi¬ 
cient  compensation  thereof,  merchandise,  property, 
labor,  or  services  of  equal  value,  and  relinquish  any 
rights  and  liens  which  may  have  resulted  in  my 
favor  and  against  the  property  of  the  Association 
by  reason  of  said  deposits,  labor  or  services. 

In  testimony  thereof,  I  have  hereunto  signed  my 
name  in  the  presence  of  the  following  witnesses, 

this .  day  of . ,  189 _ 

. [Seal.] 


,  Witness. 
,  Witness. 


[No....  of  Branch  No 


] 


16 


The  purpose  of  the  organization  is  to  demonetize 
all  metals  as  coin,  and  monetize  all  the  products  of 
Labor — it  being  obviously  unjust  to  allow  a  man 
to  get  into  debt  for  anything  under  the  sun,  but  to 
be  able  to  get  out  of  debt  only  by  means  of  one  (or 
two)  metals  which  are  extremely  difficult  for  him  to 
obtain. 

The  Labor  checks  put  into  circulation  are  per¬ 
fectly  safe,  because  they  are  not  issued  except  for 
actual  wealth  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Exchange, 
or  for  work  performed.  Before  the  goods  go  out 
from  the  Exchanges,  paper  representing  the  amount 
to  be  withdrawn  has  to  be  handed  in. 

Production  and  consumption  will  by  this  system 
be  vastly  increased;  the  paper  check  money  cannot 
be  cornered;  they  will  be  very  unlikely  to  draw  in¬ 
terest,  because  every  one  will  be  the  possessor  of 
all  he  produces — the  average  amount  of  $10  a  day. 

It  will  encourage  home  production  as  no  other 
method  could  possibly  accomplish;  it  will  at  once 
sound  the  death  knell  to  monopoly,  and  render 
strikes  unnecessary;  show  the  absurdity  of  one 
man,  or  one  thousand  men,  coercing  one  man  or  a 
thousand  men  to  work  one  hour  or  twenty-four 
hours  a  day;  it  will  prevent  the  present  very  small 
minority  of  FIVE  governing  70,000,000;  it  will 
render  starvation  optional  instead  of  compulsory, 
as  at  present;  it  will  allow  a  choice  of  congenial 
occupations,  and  therefore  secure  the  best  results; 
square  men  would  be  suited  with  square  holes,  and 
the  round  men  would  find  fitting  round  holes;  it 
would  encourage  brotherly  love,  and  thus  relegate 
to  the  past,  the  present  civilization  of  each  man 
having  his  hand  against  some  other  man’s  throat, 
or,  on  his  bread  and  butter. 

It  will  render  surplus  products  impossible,  and 
surplus  labor  will  be  an  unknown  quantity. 


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